Raphael Viñoly: The pragmatist of Park Avenue
The world-renowned architect talks to TRD about designing for the 1 percent and the industry’s ‘artist’ complex

June 01, 2016
By James Gardner

Quote:

...When I asked Viñoly whether he had a favorite among his buildings, he cited a few from the above list, but the conversation quickly turned to 432 Park.

“Yes, it’s tall, and yes, it’s controversial. But wait until some of the others come on line [on 57th Street], and then you tell me. This is a discreet, restrained, simple, totally intelligent building,” he said.

“It has a quality of timelessness. Sometimes you just hit it right. And people notice it: not because it’s very tall, but because it’s good,” he added with a laugh.

He also noted that the building has a “logical structure that architects of late have forgotten or abandoned.”

That, he said, gives it a clear floor plan that allows owners to design their units however they wish. “Some of the new towers, some of them taller than this, are just forests of columns in their interior spaces,” Viñoly said.

__________________NEW YORK. World's capital.

“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.

__________________The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth GalbraithWe must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.Elie Wiesel

.....Howard Lorber is a 67-year-old New Yorker, balding, gregarious, instantly likable. He stood at his 52nd-floor office window, which looks out over — or, I suppose, under — his future home. His apartment will be on the 67th floor, he told me, 850 feet above the ground.

“I point it out to everyone who comes in here,” he said.

I mentioned my calculation that only a few dozen people currently live above 800 feet in the city. Lorber, who works in real estate, did his own calculation and said, “Once 432 Park is filled, there’ll be 40 more.”

.....From time to time during our conversation, he lapsed into a kind of marketing autopilot: “432 Park is an unbelievably striking building, it’s like a masterpiece, it has to be the most talked-about and revered building in New York City. ... ” But I didn’t mind the spiel because — given his expertise — he provided insightful answers to my lingering questions about the supertall boom.

“How come Trump World Tower is so much less expensive than 432 Park?” I asked.

“By New York standards it’s already an older building,” he said. “First Avenue in the 40s doesn’t command the same price as Park Avenue in the 50s. It just doesn’t. Everyone wants to live in the middle, as opposed to the ends. I guess Central Park is the equivalent of living on the water in the Hamptons. Then there are the ceiling heights, the amenities. ... ” (432 Park will have a restaurant, a fitness center and several floors of studios that the owners of the larger apartments can purchase as offices or for staff accommodation. When I walked into Lorber’s office, he was complaining to one of his associates about the price of these studios. “Seven hundred feet for $3 million, to house your staff?” he was saying. “I don’t think it’s such a good idea.” Still, he has reserved one for himself.)

.....I asked him about all the emptiness up there. Will those apartments purchased as investments by foreign billionaires really remain forever vacant?

“It depends on the people,” he replied. “Some foreigners just want to get their money out of the countries they’re in. They may or may not rent them, but it’s not about making money. It’s more a matter of wanting stability, to be in a safe haven, which they believe New York City is. Look around the world. Look at all the turmoil. Argentina’s bankrupt, Brazil’s in trouble. In China the prices probably went down 20 to 30 percent last year.” But this, he added, was more an issue for One57 than for 432 Park. “One57 is geared more to foreigners; 432 Park is mostly domestic.”

“How come?” I asked.

“It ended up that way,” he said. “One57 has a hotel in it. 432 Park doesn’t. I think the foreigners like the idea of having a hotel. The locals like the privacy and the security of not having a hotel. And also, in fairness, One57 was on the market first. So they had the first shot at those people.”